


Look What the Cat Dragged In

by goopeculiar



Category: EXO
Genre: :(, Cat, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, ugly pets deserve love too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25127350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goopeculiar/pseuds/goopeculiar
Summary: Chanyeol's favorite cat at the shelter gets adopted.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 10
Kudos: 118





	Look What the Cat Dragged In

Saturday is indisputably Chanyeol's favorite day of the week. Every Saturday, after a full five days of providing IT support at a huge law firm, Chanyeol gets up early, takes the subway two stops, and goes to the animal shelter he volunteers at. It is his _favorite_ day of the week.

Chanyeol tries not to show favoritism. He tries to make sure every cat gets the same amount of chin scritches, every dog gets the same amount of belly rubs. He does his very best to divide his love equally, because every single animal at the shelter deserves to be loved. And yet, despite his best efforts, Chanyeol can't help but gravitate towards one cat in particular.

Steve has been here even longer than Chanyeol has, which is probably because he is not a very attractive cat. He's missing an eye and part of his tail, and his fur is a weird, patchy mismatch of short in some places, long in others. He is not the kind of cat most people would choose when adopting from a shelter, but he is the sweetest, gentlest creature Chanyeol has ever met. He always greets Steve first when he gets to the shelter and says goodbye to him last before he leaves. If only Chanyeol was allowed to have pets at his apartment.

The shelter's veterinarian, Minseok, is standing behind the front counter when Chanyeol enters. He greets Chanyeol with a smile and an amicable wave before turning his attention back to the screen of his computer. Chanyeol heads straight for the back where they keep the animals. He walks to the cats' area, passes rows upon rows of cages until he makes it to the very last one where he'll usually find Steve curled up in a warm spot.

Except Steve isn't there. The cage he usually lives in is empty. Chanyeol feels a slight sense of dread starting to well up in him. He checks the other cages as well – maybe they moved him? – but Steve is nowhere to be found. All that's left to show that he's ever been there is the tufts of fur on the light blue blanket in the corner. Steve's favorite blanket.

With a racing heart, Chanyeol makes his way back to the front room. He slams his palms against the top of the counter and stares at Minseok as he asks: “Where is Steve?”

Minseok blinks, looking taken aback. “Uh, who's Steve?”

Right. Steve is Chanyeol's name for the cat, but the shelter calls him something different. He searches his brain for the name until he finally remembers, and he slams his palms against the counter again, this time with more force. It kind of hurts, but he's not about to show his weakness when he's trying to come across as intimidating. “Mr. Fluffles!” Chanyeol corrects. “I demand to know where mr. Fluffles is!”

“Oh,” Minseok says. “He was adopted yesterday.” That's... a lot less disconcerting than any of the gruesome alternative scenarios Chanyeol had concocted in his head. He doesn't know if he should smile or frown, though, so his face keeps switching between the two. On the one hand, he's happy that Steve has finally been adopted into what is hopefully a loving Forever Home, something several of the other volunteers at the shelter had thought to be near impossible. On the other hand, he's sad that he didn't at least get to say goodbye.

“Did he...?” Chanyeol swallows. “Did he take his medical checkup well?”

Minseok, seeming to grasp Chanyeol's emotional state, smiles softly. “Yeah. Very calm and gentle and sweet. He's a good boy.”

“The best boy,” Chanyeol sniffles, and Minseok pats his aching hand. Chanyeol takes a moment to get his bearings straight, then goes back to the back room to tend to the rest of the pets. This is good, he tells himself. It's good for Steve. He deserves to be loved.

  
  
  


There is another reason why Saturday is Chanyeol's favorite day of the week. Saturday is also date night. Despite their busy schedules, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo try to see each other almost every day, even if it's just for a quick cup of coffee or a makeout session in the back of Kyungsoo's Porsche. But Saturday is the day they've reserved for each other. Saturday is date night.

Today, they're having dinner at Kyungsoo's place. They take turns cooking for each other, and this night is Kyungsoo's. The apartment smells like garlic and spices when Chanyeol lets himself in with the spare key Kyungsoo gave him for their third anniversary. Kyungsoo comes out of the kitchen before Chanyeol makes it further than the entrance hallway. “Hey,” he says, and Chanyeol nearly stumbles over his own shoes in his eagerness to greet him. Kyungsoo's eyes curve with mirth, and his mouth is soft when Chanyeol leans down to kiss it.

“Mhm, smells good,” Chanyeol mumbles. “What're you making?”

“I'm trying my hand at a curry. It's been on the stove since this morning.” Chanyeol's mouth waters at the mere thought of it. Then again, he always reacts like that when it comes to Kyungsoo's cooking. Or Kyungsoo in general, really. He makes a pleased noise in the back of his throat and bends over to kiss Kyungsoo again, but Kyungsoo pulls away after just a brief peck. “I have a surprise for you,” he says, and Chanyeol can tell he's excited about this.

Chanyeol wiggles his eyebrows. “Sounds hot,” he simpers, yelping when Kyungsoo punches him in the shoulder with more force than necessary. He whimpers as he rubs the sore spot, and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes.

“Don't be dramatic,” he says. “Go sit down in the living room.”

Chanyeol is a good boy, and so he does as he's told. The leather of the couch creaks under his weight when he plops down on it, and it keeps creaking as he vibrates with anticipation. He has no idea what Kyungsoo's surprise could be, but he loves surprises. He waits impatiently. And then he hears it. The familiar sound of a too-loud meow. He whips around to look in the direction of the noise, and there is Kyungsoo, holding Steve in his arms. Chanyeol gasps. “What did you do?”

Kyungsoo sets the cat down on the floor, and the cat promptly waddles towards Chanyeol and meows to be picked up. Chanyeol doesn't hesitate. He lifts Steve into his lap and strokes him between the ears and at the base of his tail the way Steve likes it. Chanyeol's eyes are misty as Steve curls up on top of his thighs, purring louder than ever. He can't believe this is real. “You know, you definitely weren't exaggerating when you were talking about how ugly that cat is,” Kyungsoo says.

“Hideous,” Chanyeol whispers without tearing his gaze away from the ball of fur in his lap.

“And he's so noisy.”

“He's deaf, he doesn't know how loud he's being.” He scratches Steve under the chin, and Steve stretches out his neck to give Chanyeol better access. Good boy. Best boy. Chanyeol looks at Kyungsoo. “I thought someone adopted him.”

Kyungsoo makes his way over to sit next to Chanyeol on the couch. His hand hovers awkwardly, like he wants to pet Steve, but doesn't know how. He settles for putting it on Chanyeol's thigh, right next to Steve's head. “Someone did adopt him,” Kyungsoo agrees. “Me.”

“But you hate cats.”

“I don't hate cats,” Kyungsoo protests, and Chanyeol raises his eyebrows.

“You spent a good portion of our second date ever talking at length about how cats are an evil virus of Satan.” He covers Steve's ears for the latter half of the sentence. It's slander, and Steve doesn't need to hear that.

Kyungsoo pulls a face. “Okay, so maybe I don't _not_ hate cats, but...” He looks down at Steve, who yawns and blinks up at Kyungsoo with his one eye. Kyungsoo holds out a tentative hand again, and Steve butts his head against it with a pleased, little chirp. Kyungsoo's expression softens. “This one isn't so bad. And I've seen the way you look when you talk about him.” Kyungsoo shrugs one shoulder. “I just want you to be happy.”

There is a thick lump of emotion that sits heavy in Chanyeol's throat. He swallows around it. “Thank you,” he says earnestly. “I love you.” Kyungsoo pulls him in for a kiss with a hand on his jaw, the other coming up to pet Chanyeol's hair. Chanyeol's chest feels like it's about to burst.


End file.
